Perched on a stool in the artfully cluttered Crocodile Tears studio, listening to Marya Chan and Jodi Klann discuss their work while willing myself not to spill my glass of red all over the beads, baubles, and oddities strewn across the polka-dotted table that serves as their workspace, I'm thinking that — as second jobs go — making jewelry with one of your best buds is a good one.

French treats find a cozy nook in Fenway Walking into the warm, aromatic embrace of the new, gingham-curtained, brightly austere café on Fenway's Restaurant Row on one of the new year's first frosty mornings felt a bit like walking into a hug after getting one's feelings bruised by an unkind word.

Don't worry. Our expert is here to help. Since the closest we've come to competitive eating was battling our dining companions for the last spring roll over late-night takeout (victoriously, we might add), we thought it best to consult a seasoned professional before entering one of McGreevy's new buffalo-wing-eating "Wing Pot" contests.

When an electrical fire tore through Pan9 six years ago, a handful of artists who lived and worked in the Warholian underground Allston art space (where the Dresden Dolls played their very first live show) were left homeless...

Don't worry. Our expert is here to help. The beard. It's the manliest accessory a dude can sport, the hirsute seat of his virility, an announcement that he is one bad mamba jamba with testosterone and style to spare.